US2894308A - Carton flap clamp - Google Patents

Description

July 14, 1959 M. ECKSTEIN CARTON FLAP CLAMP 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 15, 1957 R. m m m July 14, 1959 M. ECKSTEIN CARTON FLAP CLAMP Filed April 15. 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 11 055115 $65372? BY carton side walls during filling operations,

This invention relates: generally to';clamps, but more specifically to clamps to, secure carton flaps against the A mainfeature of the invention resides in the provision of a clamp structure-of angular formation for application to thecornersof packing cartons for purposes of retaining the carton flaps against the side walls of ithe container .during the filling operation. 1

A further feature pf tj heinventionresides in the provision of a clamp .structure for securing corner flap portions of a carton against thejcorrespondihg sidewalls to retain the flaps in an out of the way position during the filling operation of the carton, and wherein the said clamp structure is easily removable from the corners of the 'carton after the latter has been filledand the carton is ready to be closed. y r r A further feature of the invention resides in the provi- 'sion of a clamp structure of the""abdve tyjaewhieh is self adjustable to wall and flap thicknesses of a carton, which is easily applied to the corners of a carton While the flaps are temporarily held in folded down position, and which is easily removed after the purpose of the clamp structure has been fulfilled.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a clamp structure for not only maintaining the flaps in a folded down position during the packaging or filling of the carton but which also lends itself to a reinforcement of the corners and adjacent edges of the carton when in open position during the filling operation, and for prevention of tears thereat.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of a clamping structure which is capable of being produced by a simple stamping operation, which is efficient in operation, easy to apply and remove and which takes up negligible additional space when applied to the carton.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear in the progress of the disclosure and as pointed out in the appended claims.

Accompanying this specification are drawings showing preferred forms of the invention and wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective showing one form of a clamping structure, the subject of the invention.

Figure 2 is a View in section across the plane 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a View in perspective of a modified form of a clamping structure.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of Figure 3 across the plane 4-4 thereof.

Figure 4a is a view in section of the clamp of Figure 3 as applied to carton walls and showing the mode of operation thereof.

Figure 5 is a view in perspective showing a type of container to which the clamping structures of the invention herein are applicable.

Figure 6 is a view in perspective showing a carton having flaps turned inwardly against the outer faces of United States Patent 0 clamping member as 2,894,308 Patented July 14,1959

the side walls thereof'and also showing the manner in which a clampingstructure is appliedto one of the corners.

Figure 7 is a view in perspective showing howthe two side and one front flap of a carton are"maintained'in folded down position by use of a pair of corner clamping structures forming the subjectof the invention.

In accordance with'the invention and the formsshown,

v numeral 10 indicatesgenerally an ordinarypacking car- 10 flaps 11-14. The purpose of the clamping structure herein is to fold such flaps against the corresponding outer faces of the sidewalls of the front, side and rear 'walls to provide free and unhampered access to t he mouth of the carton and eliminate extra space taken by the projection of theflaps either on the outside of the car-ton thereby interfering with freedom of operation of the filling operatorpor projection of thejfiaps in 'the inside of the carton thereby interfering withthe capacity A clamping structure thus "is provided generally iridicated by numeral 15, nd is in the form ofla of "siiiiil'ar and irivcr ted? apedclampirig maste Each j l .s aQ j idfi i ni ui r i "16,a topwall 17 aiid 'aninn leg18. The inner edge of the short leg of each clamping member is joined for angular disposition of the clamping members as indicated by common edge 19. In most cases the angulation between the individual clamping members joined at common edge 19 is preferably degrees, but the angulation may assume any angle. For this reason it is preferable that the clamping structure be formed of resilient and flexible metallic material to make the same adjustable at least in angulation.

As shown the outer leg 16 of each of the clamping members is longer than the inner leg 18, each outer leg at the bottom being provided with an upwardly turned edge or flared portion 20 for facilitating hand removal of the clamp when applied to a corner of carton 10.

The distance between the outer and inner legs 16 and 18 is controlled by the joining top wall 17, and this distance may be dictated by the thickness of the carton walls for proper effectiveness.

It is to be observed that outer leg 16 of each of the clamping members is more elongated than the inner leg 18 for giving the clamping member stability in holding on to the corners of the carton. Moreover, the top walls 17 of the clamping members serve to engage the intersecting corner edges of the carton including the fold of the flap members when the latter are folded against the outer faces of the walls of the carton.

In another modified form of the structure, the front wall of each clamping member is provided wtih a re silient tongue and clamping element for effecting clamping pressure of the flaps lying along the outer faces of the walls of the carton. Thus, intermediate the width of each of the outer legs 16 is a tongue cut-out 2-1 and an end expanded cut-out 22 thereby forming a resilient strip 23 and a bottom terminal bowl-shaped element 24 which are otfset inwardly whereby tongue 23 serves as a spring and 24 as a clamping element against the flaps as best shown in Figure 4a. In this form of the invention, an added width of top wall 17 of each of the clamping members may be used to accommodate different sizes and the flaps are maintained in folded in position.

since tongue 23 and element 24 acommodate themselves to variations in carton thickness.

As shown in Figure 8, the old method of keeping flaps down utilized gummed tape which is a time consuming and messy procedurefor this purpose.

As shown in Figure 6, the clamping structure is merecorners of the carton as indicated in Figure 7, the corners After forcing the clamping structure into the and top edges are reinforced to prevent tearing thereat For removal of the clamping structure it is merely necessary 7 to lift the same from the flared portions 20.

The clamping structure above described may be manufactured by a stamping and folding operation as becomes obvious in view of the fact that the clamping structure isformed from a single blank. Thus by viewing Figures 1 and 3 it is seen how a single blank may be provided having a fold line equivalent to the integration edge 19 at the inner .walls 18. The blank is further provided with a straight vertical cut thereabove and in alignment with told line 19 to form the inner continuous and spaced edges of outer legs 16 and top walls 17. Transverse fold lines are provided to form the longitudinal edges of the top walls 17. The tongue 13 and clamping element 24- are formed from the blank by a cutting operation.

I wish it understood that minor changes and variations in the integration, size, location and size of parts may all be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

, ing carton flaps against the carton side walls, comprising a pair of similar and inverted U-shaped resilient clamping members, each clamping member having an outer long and an inner short leg, the inner edge of the short leg of each clamping member being joined for angular disposition of the clamping members and the ends of the outer long legs having an outwardly flared oifset to serve as a hand grasping means for application and removal of the corner clamp.

2. A packing carton removable corner clamp for clamping carton flaps against the carton side walls, comprising a pair of similar and inverted metallic U-shaped resilient clamping members, each clamping member having an outer and inner leg, a rounded wall joining the outer and inner legs of each of the clamping members, the inner edge of the inner leg of each clamping member being joined for angular disposition of the clamping members.

3. A packaging carton removable corner clamp as set forth in claim 2 wherein the outer long leg of each clamping member at the lower end is offset to servev as a hand grasping means for removal of the corner clamp.

4. A packing carton removable corner clamp for clamping carton flaps against the carton side walls, comprising a pair of similar and inverted U-shaped clamping members, each clamping member having an outer and inner leg, the inner edge of the inner leg of each clamping member being joined for angular disposition of the clamping members, the outer leg of each of said members having an inwardly directed resilient clamping tongue cooperating with the inner leg of said members and said outer leg also having an oifset on the bottom thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 58,153 Maker June 14, 1921 231,727 Nahe Aug. 31, 1880 2,168,911 Meyer Aug. 8, 1939

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